Re: Adam and Eve - myth?

Jim,
 
Thanks for the suggestions for other sites. Interestingly, quite a few people on this list have found the discussion interesting.
 
You asked if I would punish an infant for crying. The answer is of course not, the infant is crying for a reason, doesn't know any better, and I need to find out why. What about the five year old that runs into the street, gets hit by a car, and dies? I have repeatedly told the child not to run into the street because the consequences could be death or extreme injury. Does the five year old understand the consequences? No - even though I have repeatedly explained that the child will be hurt or will die. Those are the consequences. The difference between the child/me and the adult/God is that God can and does take the punishment/consequences of my sins. He died a spiritual death so I wouldn't have to. He sacrificed Himself to become my Savior so that I might have eternal life with Him. The story doesn't fall apart - it makes perfect sense.
 
You also said that "non-believers have far less restrictions." Is this your reason for not believing? That doesn't make sense to me. We all have restrictions no matter what we believe in. I choose to follow some restrictions that others choose not to follow - it's my choice. By choice, you have placed restrictions on yourself. For example, you choose not to follow the "still, small voice" but to follow your own instincts or beliefs. I have much more freedom because I get to follow both, even though God's voice is much more reliable than my own. You have restricted yourself to specific, known, verifiable parameters - I get to explore the infinite and dance while I do it! What you see as restrictions I see as freedom to understand.
 
Sheila
 
 

Jim Eisele <jeisele@starpower.net> wrote:
Well, Sheila, typically this isn't a list for atheism-Christian
discussion. The best list that I have been able to find for that is
http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=b66d1c348c43184159c7baf5
caf8e998&forumid=15
It is run by Christians.

A hard core atheist site where all the Christians have "run away" is
http://www.topica.com/lists/ii_errancy

It's too bad - because Christianity without truth is just ugly.

You wrote

>The serpent is often more believable but I missed the transition from being
more believable to
>having the story fall apart. Would you please explain further.
>
>I do not believe the story falls apart simply because the serpent was more
believable. I have
>been taught right from wrong by my parents, teachers, friends, and God. I
would like to choose >to do right, yet I often choose wrong despite the
excellent teaching. I choose wrong because,
>at the time of choosing, the wrong way seems right in my mind. For
example, a small child is
>told/taught not to touch something hot because it will hurt. The child
does not know that it
>will hurt or how much it will hurt and often chooses to touch something hot
anyway. At the
>moment, touching something seems like the right thing to do otherwise the
child probably would
>not touch it. Once the child has touched the hot item, the child begins to
cry, realizing the
>pain of touching something hot. The child learns not to touch hot things
but not before feeling
>pain. The child had the freedom to choose. Why would the child touch
somethi! ng hot after
>being told not to? Because the thing is pretty or out of curiosity or
simply because the child
>wanted to? We all have many, many reasons why.
>Adam and Eve had free choice in the garden because God gives everyone the
freedom to choose.
>They could have chosen not to eat of the fruit thereby not experiencing sin
and disobedience.
>Eve made what felt like the right choice at the time because she was
deceived by the more
>believable talking serpent and her own flesh. Adam chose disobedience.
They both suffered.

In the story, Adam and Eve both thought they were making the right choice.
The story says they had no knowledge of good or evil. The story falls apart
when they get punished for their innocent actions. Would you punish an
infant for crying?

>One thing I know is that everyone has made wrong choices in their lives and
only one man was
>perfect. We come to the Father through the one perfect man Jesus Christ.
Again, Jim, the Bible
>is about relationship with God. When you read it in that context,
everything makes sense,
>everything is understandable. Until you do, nothing makes sense and nothing
is understood. God
>is infinite large and infinitely small. He provides the understanding you
and I seek.

All I can say here is that there is a huge difference between being a
believer and a non-believer. Obviously non-believers have far less
restrictions. I need a lot more evidence that Christianity is divine before
I'd ever start trying to listen to a "still, small voice" or anything like
that.

Jim

Sheila McGinty Wilson
sheila-wilson@sbcglobal.net
Received on Mon Dec 29 12:54:54 2003